A drunk thug who caused havoc on a holiday flight from Spain by refusing to stop drinking his own bevvy and challenging a passenger to fight with him has been jailed.

William Williamson was on a packed flight from Menorca to Edinburgh when he told a cabin crew member she was "a whore" when asked to stop drinking from a bottle of whisky.

Williamson, 32, also challenged a fellow passenger who was carrying a young child to fight with him after the man had attempted to calm the situation while aboard the Jet2 flight.

The lout's behaviour was said to have been so bad that cabin crew members were left in tears and children on board had been left "frightened".

The plane's captain was informed of the ruckus and he considered diverting the flight to Manchester before eventually deciding to carry on to Edinburgh.

The aggressive thug - who was travelling with his partner and four children - also caused a further disturbance when he refused to take his seat as the plane came into land at Edinburgh Airport last October.

Williamson, from Falkirk, was subsequently escorted off the plane after being met at the airport by waiting police officers.

The dad-of-four admitted to a charge of committing a breach of the peace on the flight when he appeared from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday.

Sheriff Alison Stirling said: "I am going to send you to a period of custody of 15 months. There is no other option due to the nature of this offence.

"You behaved in a despicable manner, ruining the end of a holiday for 150 adults and 28 children and you have a bad record of repeated offending."

Prosecutor Ross Carvel told the court Williamson and his family had been on the flight which left the holiday island's Mahon Airport on October 5 last year and which was carrying 178 passengers and four cabin crew.

Mr Carvel said Williamson was first heard shouting and swearing at his partner around 75 minutes into the flight and appeared to be "heavily intoxicated and his speech was slurred".

Williamson's family were moved away from him and he was spotted attempting to hide a bottle of whisky under his shirt that he had been swigging from.

Cabin crew told him it was illegal to consume his own alcohol aboard the flight but he refused to stop drinking from the bottle.

He shouted at the female air steward calling her "a c**t and a whore" and told her that he was boxer from the traveller community.

The fiscal added: "A male passenger walking past the accused carrying a young child and spoke to the accused but he put his arm around the passenger and challenged him to a fight."

The fiscal said the Jet2 captain then issued the thug with a warning letter and the court was told he had also considered diverting the plane to Manchester.

The court was told Williamson's behaviour had "endangered" the safety of passengers and there had been "risk of injury to passengers" during the flight.

Solicitor James McMacken, defending, said his client suffered from " a fear of flying" and had bought the alcohol before getting on the plane.

The brief added: " He had argued with his partner and the matter had got completely out of hand."

Mr McMacken said Williamson admitted he had behaved in an "appalling manner" and that he was "disgusted with himself".

Williamson pleaded guilty to conducting himself in a disorderly manner by shouting, swearing, refusing to stop drinking alcohol when asked to do so, challenge another passenger to fight while he was a carrying a child, refuse to remain seated while plane was landing and place lingers in a state of fear and alarm and commit a breach of the peace while travelling between Mahon Airport and Edinburgh Airport on October 5 last year.